Moss gardening

Katie0317

Katie0317

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I've been looking at various trees and forests and have noticed how moss usually enhances the tree...Not always but often.

I came across an article about a huge moss garden in Kyoto and thought about how much I'd love to see it. Are there any experts at growing moss reading this? Anyone who grows it at all?

Am wondering about the small container of moss I bought and it's not quite as green as it was a month ago. Too much water, sun or not enough? Thank you for any help on growing moss and suggestions at new types to try.

Here's the article on the moss garden in Japan. https://www.gardendesign.com/japanese/moss.html
 
Forsoothe! said:
Post #13 might help.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the response. I read the page but am not sure how it would help? I bought it at a bonsai nursery about 90 min south of Orlando. He had it in full sun so I did the same and that was almost a month ago. Part of it is browning. Not sure why? It's not that I haven't found it for sale. I don't think others here have driven to the primary bonsai nurseries to see what they have and are looking for moss for sale here instead of in person. So I know where to buy it am just wondering why it's turning a bit brown in one area? Thank you though.
 
moke said:
I’ve got a mossarium, so I guess I am growing moss?

View attachment 396176View attachment 396177Very cool, am not sure exactly what I'm looking at but I like it. The long' things' with the red tops remind me of coral in an aquarium. Very beautiful. Are there several types of moss in there? I've never heard of that before and I like it. I bet you'd want to see the moss museum in Kyoto too. Btw, what's the brown 'thing' in the middle? Sorry to call it a 'thing' but I'm clueless as to what it is. Btw, any idea why part of my moss is brown? thanks...Katie
Click to expand...
 
British Soldier Moss (Cladonia cristatella) is what the red topped stuff is, it's technically not even a moss but a fungi/algae. There are several types of moss growing in there. the brown thing in the center is just a piece of wood. I would love to see the moss museum in Kyoto and many other sites in Japan, cool article by the way thanks for sharing it. but for now I'll have to just stare into my mossarium : ). I've always been fond of mosses most likely due to the fact there's not much of it around where I live in Utah and its way too dry.
Do you have pics of the brown spots your concerned about?
 
I grow moss unintentionally. Whenever I give it a shot and do it intentionally, only sphagnum (and java moss) proves to be easy to cultivate.
There are some forum threads about moss, I think they were originally about Kyoto moss and eventually turned into threads about all kinds of mosses. If you google search "bonsainut.com kyoto moss" the first results should help you out a little.
 
Growing mosses from outside areas can be a bit of a challenge....they're fairly touchy about their individual requirements and dont tend to do so well if they're not juuuuuust right...
A good thing to check might be the ph of your water as most mosses dont tend to like overly alkaline conditions.

Otherwise, your best bet might be to gather some moss from your own area and plant it/position the pot somewhere that more or less replicates the light levels in the area you got it from.

Its purely anecdotal, but in my area, neat feather moss (Pseudoscleropodium purum) and juniper haircap moss (polytrichum juniperum) have been exceedingly strong and adaptable to varying light and moisture levels....also, in case you're able to find some near you, juniper haircap moss will grow very happily on very poor soils and (in my area at least) seems to thrive on crushed granite
 
moke said:
British Soldier Moss (Cladonia cristatella) is what the red topped stuff is, it's technically not even a moss but a fungi/algae. There are several types of moss growing in there. the brown thing in the center is just a piece of wood. I would love to see the moss museum in Kyoto and many other sites in Japan, cool article by the way thanks for sharing it. but for now I'll have to just stare into my mossarium : ). I've always been fond of mosses most likely due to the fact there's not much of it around where I live in Utah and its way too dry.
Do you have pics of the brown spots your concerned about?
Click to expand...
Moke, here's a pic of the moss I'm concerned about.IMG_3815.jpg
 
Katie0317 said:
Moke, here's a pic of the moss I'm concerned about.

View attachment 396450
Click to expand...
It looks pretty healthy at the moment, are you watering it with tap water? Don’t use tap water, I use RO water and water it with a fine mist bottle. I’ve also found that it doesn’t do as well if I over water it. I let mine dry out just a bit between watering. I’ve had some brown after collecting, but have had it green back up after it adjusted to its new environment which sometimes takes awhile. I have mine growing indoors under a grow light in a cooler location in my basement.
 
Moke, we just had a new roof put on so the gutters are off. Normally our rain barrel stays full and we use it water our orchids etc...So tap water is it for now. (We have a giant rain barrel and we just moved it so it can collect a bit of water so we'll see.)

Btw, I was reading about moss and I found several recipes which were essentially the same...Dry sphamgum moss ground up and dried (essentially dead) moss on top and new moss grows. Are you familiar with this? Seems like a good idea.

Supposedly there's a lot of moss growing wild in Florida but I haven't noticed it and we're across the street from a lake. Most of the lakeshore has been made so meticulous by homeowners there's nothing wild left but there are a few areas and still I haven't seen it there. I'd have to go out in the woods but I don't recall seeing moss when I rode in the woods... but I wasn't looking for it either.

There is a type of moss that's low to the ground and looks like a bright green little plant (not moss)...Can't describe it better. I'd like to find it. Do you know what I'm referring to? Bright green and springy looking. Like a mini tree.

Wouldn't it be easy to grow moss naturally outdoors with a glass container turned upside down...Some air would get in but not a lot? I'd think it wouldn't be difficult...Not a pretty one but something easy?
 
Thinking of gold sedum...I think that's it.

Great video on dyi moss...
 
Last edited:
It’s been said before, but gathering wild moss as close to your garden as possible makes moss cultivation really easy.

The sidewalk moss from in front of my house always does better than the sidewalk moss from my office 20 miles away.
 
True story:

I tried to grow 3 trays of moss one time. Laid them down in a semi-shady area. None of the trays produced any moss. The area all around the trays had moss all over. Made no sense. The area never had moss before. It looked like three trays of dirt sitting on a bed of moss.

I will say I have found moss does like sunlight which I never guessed at first. I am pretty sure they want some sun and lots of moisture. I always thought moss would be shade loving.
 
Beautiful! Makes me want to take a walk in the forest.

I don't think of Laguna Bch being near a forest? I really love Laguna Bch btw. Not a fan of L.A. but love Laguna beach.
 
Katie0317 said:
Moke, we just had a new roof put on so the gutters are off. Normally our rain barrel stays full and we use it water our orchids etc...So tap water is it for now. (We have a giant rain barrel and we just moved it so it can collect a bit of water so we'll see.)

Btw, I was reading about moss and I found several recipes which were essentially the same...Dry sphamgum moss ground up and dried (essentially dead) moss on top and new moss grows. Are you familiar with this? Seems like a good idea.

Supposedly there's a lot of moss growing wild in Florida but I haven't noticed it and we're across the street from a lake. Most of the lakeshore has been made so meticulous by homeowners there's nothing wild left but there are a few areas and still I haven't seen it there. I'd have to go out in the woods but I don't recall seeing moss when I rode in the woods... but I wasn't looking for it either.

There is a type of moss that's low to the ground and looks like a bright green little plant (not moss)...Can't describe it better. I'd like to find it. Do you know what I'm referring to? Bright green and springy looking. Like a mini tree.

Wouldn't it be easy to grow moss naturally outdoors with a glass container turned upside down...Some air would get in but not a lot? I'd think it wouldn't be difficult...Not a pretty one but something easy?
Click to expand...
You may want to buy a bottle of RO or demin water to water with until you get your rain barrels filled. I had much better success once I started using either rainwater, RO and demin. The chlorine and high mineral content in most tap water cause issues eventually with moss. I used the sphagnum moss method you spoke about to make a carpet of moss on a bonsai forest planting, it worked great. I collected moss from a location and threw it with the sphagnum in a blender and ground it all up, then put a thin layer on the bonsai surface and kept it moist. Eventually I had a soft velvety carpet form.E1B4EF4E-6B0C-4AD1-891D-052E2723D63C.jpeg
 
PiñonJ said:
What substrate are you growing it on?
Click to expand...
I used a fine layer of reptile/amphibian substrate on top of a 1” layer of carbon filter pad and under the pad was a layer of pebbles for air exchange and drainage. I think it was composed of wood and sphagnum moss most likely.
 
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